The crude birth rate measures the number of live births registered during the calendar year, per 1,000 estimated resident population. From a high of 27.1 recorded in 1947 the crude birth rate for Tasmania has generally declined to reach an all time low of 12.1 in 2000. In 2001 and 2002 the rate was 13.6 and 12.7 respectively. Until the 1990s, the Tasmanian crude birth rate had usually been higher than the overall rate for Australia.